Breakthru Beverage Illinois

Breakthru Beverage Illinois is the state’s oldest and most established distributor. The company began operations out of a single warehouse in 1946 and has since grown to become a flagship distributor. Today, Breakthru Illinois reaches every corner of the state, utilizes the most innovative technology and employs the industry’s most knowledgeable salesforce.

Formerly known as: Wirtz Beverage Illinois

Leadership

David Lockie

President, Midwest Region

David Lockie serves as President Midwest of Breakthru Beverage Group, leading the company’s operations in Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. In this role, he drives the regional strategy and aligns priorities with the company’s corporate and strategic vision.

David is a seasoned leader with nearly 32 years of industry experience. Most recently, he was Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Wirtz Beverage Illinois and Minnesota. There he successfully led sales strategies including planning, implementation, measurement and supplier acquisition, and was also responsible for the company’s joint venture in Iowa.

Prior to joining Wirtz Beverage, David served as President of Glazer’s Illinois, managing the company’s portfolio on a statewide basis. His experience also includes a tenure as President of Johnson Brothers of Illinois. David is a seasoned integration and change management leader.

He began his career with Romano Brothers, eventually transitioning to E&J Gallo Winery. At Gallo, David was the Midwest and Mid-Central Division manager of the company, overseeing execution of Gallo’s retail programming and brand standards in each of the respective regions.

Michael Shiffer

Vice President Sales, Illinois, Avant Division

As Vice President of the Avant & Premier Division, Shiffer’s team is responsible for driving sales performance of all Breakthru Beverage IL suppliers in some of the most specialized accounts in the state. He is also tasked with properly aligning with Trade Development and building long-lasting relationships with customers and suppliers.
Prior to this role, he served as Director of the Horizon Division for Wirtz Beverage IL, where he led the team to peak performance year-over-year. The Horizon Division covers Chicagoland, Heartland and encompasses several teams that represent all WBI suppliers.

Prior to his time with Wirtz Beverage, Shiffer spent time with multiple distributors as well as the E&J Gallo Winery, where we worked as Field Marketing Manager, Division Manager and Director of Customer Development.

Shiffer began his career in the alcohol beverage industry immediately after graduating from the University of Iowa.

Al Bruni

Vice President, Spirits

As a veteran of the beverage alcohol industry for over 20 years, Al Bruni joined Wirtz Beverage Illinois in 2011 as the VP for the Alliance Division. In that role, he was responsible for building and overseeing the division.

In January of 2013, Al transitioned into his current role as VP of Sales and Marketing Spectrum Division: Spirits for Breakthru Beverage IL where he is responsible for over 55 key spirit suppliers. Al also manages the Summit and Horizon sales division, as well as the Illinois shared divisions.

Previously, Al spent 20 years with Bacardi USA where he held in various sales management roles in 11 different states throughout the USA.

Steve Lesak

Vice President, Sales, Illinois, Spectrum Wine Division

In his role as Vice President of Sales for the Spectrum Wine Division at Breakthru Beverage Illinois, Steve Lesak is responsible for over 60 suppliers, 3.6 million cases and $220 million dollars in sales annually.

He has over 26 years of experience with both distributors and suppliers such as: Romano Brothers Beverage Company, Johnson Brothers Liquor Company, Glazers Distributing, and The E&J Gallo Winery.

Steve has a Bachelors of Science in Management from Northern Illinois University.

Daniel Mucciolo
Vice President General Manager

Experts

Across the country, we employ the industry's most premier specialists. Their expertise and talents far-reaching and diverse, scale the full complement of beer, wine and spirits.

Alchemy Room

Within Breakthru Beverage Illinois’ 600,000 square foot warehouse you can step into the Alchemy Room, a bartender’s playground equipped with cutting-edge beverage tools that serves as a development lab. The Alchemy Room aims to progress the bartending craft with state-of-the-art appliances, bar tools and the world’s best products, it is the perfect place to host trainings, tastings and industry events.

Our Brands

Whether looking for wine, spirits or beer, we've got what you need. Peruse our portfolio of the most eclectic, sought-after and best-tasting beverages around.

Become a Customer

Backed with a portfolio that is unrivaled, Breakthru Beverage is proud to call the industry’s elite suppliers our partners. Investments in facilities, technologies and our people ensure best-in-class service of the brands you want, when you need them. Learn more about how we can do business together.